[ad_1]
The new indoor security camera from Nest Labs, the Nest Cam IQ ($299), is its first to offer face-recognition technology. It uses a Supersight automatic zooming and tracking feature to identify people in its field of view, and match their image to pictures in your library so you can keep track of who is coming and going, and when. It also offers many of the same features found in Nest’s other cams, including motion and sound detection, push and email alerts, two-way audio, and the ability to interact with other smart home devices. It’s a fantastic security camera, but at $299, it’s one of the more expensive ones out there.
Design and Features
The Nest Cam IQ looks very similar to the Nest Cam Outdoor, but is strictly intended for indoor use. It has a curved white housing and a round adjustable stand, and measures 4.9 inches tall, 2.9 inches wide, and 2.9 inches deep.
The camera delivers live 24/7 1080p video on demand and is always recording, has a 12x digital zoom, a 130-degree field of view, and an 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio that works on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. It also has embedded motion and audio sensors, a thin LED light ring around the lens that glows blue when you power it up, an array of microphones, a speaker, and support for two-way audio communication. It comes with a 10-foot USB power cord and power adapter, and a quick start card.
Similar Products
Arlo Pro
See It
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Arlo Pro Review
Icontrol Networks Piper nv
Check Stock
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Icontrol Networks Piper nv Review
LG Smart Security Wireless Camera LHC5200WI (With ADT Canopy)
Check Stock
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our LG Smart Security Wireless Camera LHC5200WI (With ADT Canopy) Review
Nest Cam Outdoor
See It
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Nest Cam Outdoor Review
Canary All-In-One Home Security Device
See It
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Canary All-In-One Home Security Device Review
CleverLoop Smart Home Security System
Check Stock
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our CleverLoop Smart Home Security System Review
Logi Circle
Check Stock
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Logi Circle Review
Nest Cam Indoor
See It
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Nest Cam Indoor Review
Netatmo Presence
See It
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Netatmo Presence Review
Zmodo Pivot
Check Stock
(Opens in a new window)
Read Our Zmodo Pivot Review
There are a few significant upgrades from other Nest offerings. The camera uses an 8-megapixel 4K HDR sensor, as opposed to the 3-megapixel sensor in the Nest Cam Indoor and Outdoor (video is streamed at 1080p but still images are captured in 4K). It also contains two ultra-small (940nm) infrared LEDS that provide up to 15 feet of night vision. They are so small, in fact, that I was unable to detect them in a completely dark room.
Also new is Nest’s Supersight technology, which automatically zooms in on people who enter the camera’s field of view, and facial recognition technology that sends alerts when the camera recognizes a face (and also tells you when it spots an unrecognized face). With Supersight you don’t have to get up close to the camera for it recognize you like you do with the Tend Secure Lynx. When a face is identified, app and email notifications will tell you who the camera saw with a link to the video.
Whereas the Nest Cam Indoor and Outdoor models require a Nest Aware subscription to receive an alert when the camera spots someone, the Nest IQ provides those alerts out of the box. However, you will need Nest Aware to take advantage of many other features, including Familiar Face alerts, Intelligent Audio alerts (people talking, dogs barking), activity alerts, video sharing, and the ability to create a time-lapse, which condenses up to 24 hours of video into a 30-, 60-, or 120-second clip. Nest Aware subscriptions are $10 per month/$100 per year for 10 days of continuous video storage, and $30 per month/$300 per year for 30 days of continuous storage.
The camera can be accessed using the same mobile app (Android and iOS) and web portal as other Nest devices such as the Nest Thermostat, the Protect smoke alarm, and the Indoor and Outdoor cameras, and it interacts with all of them. It can also work with other smart devices using If This Then That (IFTTT) recipes, and you can view video clips on the Amazon Echo Show using Alexa voice commands.
The app opens to a screen that displays all connected Nest devices. Tap the Nest Cam IQ to launch a live stream and the Sightline, which is time-lapse record of all activities that you can swipe through to find a specific point in time. Once you’ve found your desired moment, tap the film icon to record and save it to the cloud. You can also share it and save it locally on your mobile device. There are three buttons along the bottom of the screen; one displays a 10-day history of video clips, one launches a live feed, and one displays a list of new people spotted by the camera. Here you can decide if you know the person or not, add them to your library, or delete them.
Tapping the gear icon in the upper right corner takes you to a screen where you can turn the camera and the microphone on and off, set up a recording schedule, enable notifications and the Familiar Face features, and view Nest Aware subscription details. There are also settings where you can turn night vision and close-up tracking on or off, dial back video quality for more bandwidth, and enable Home/Away Assist, which uses your phone’s location service to trigger the camera automatically depending on where you are.
Installation and Performance
To test the Nest Cam IQ, I downloaded the iOS app, created an account, and plugged in the camera. After entering my address and allowing notifications, I tapped the plus button to add the device. I was prompted to scan the QR code on the bottom of the base, selected a location for the camera from the list, and hit Continue. The camera was recognized within 20 seconds, at which time I was prompted to select a Wi-Fi network to connect to. After another 15 seconds or so the camera was connected and ready to go.
The Nest Cam IQ delivered outstanding daytime video in my tests. The 1080p live stream is sharp, with very good color detail and no evidence of pincushion or barrel distortion. Night vision video is also highly detailed and shows good contrast with uniform lighting out to around 20 feet. The camera’s microphone and speaker combo deliver the best two-way audio quality of any camera I’ve reviewed to date. Conversations are loud, free of noise, and have almost no lag.
Motion and sound detection are also top-notch. The camera has no trouble differentiating between people and other motion from pets and passing cars, and facial recognition works wonderfully. Thanks to the Supersight auto zoom feature, there was no need to get up close and personal for the camera to recognize a face. The IQ always notified me when my dog was barking, and when it detected a person talking, and recorded video was just as sharp as the live feed.
Conclusions
There’s a lot to like about the Nest Cam IQ. Its Supersight zooming feature does a great job of tracking visitors and matching them to your Familiar Face library, and it’s smart enough to know the difference between a person and other moving objects. It’ll even tell you if it hears people talking or dogs barking. Live and recorded video are sharp and colorful, and the camera responds to motion and sound events quickly with push and email notifications. That said, this is one of the most expensive home surveillance cameras out there, and you can plan on spending even more for a Nest Aware subscription if you want to take advantage of all of its neat features.
For users that already own one or more Nest devices, the Nest Cam IQ is an excellent addition. If you use Z-Wave and ZigBee devices to control things like lights, air conditioners, and garage door openers, our Editors’ Choice, the Icontrol Networks Piper nv, pulls double-duty as a home automation hub, delivers sharp 1080p video, and has built-in temperature and humidity sensors. It’ll tell you when it detects motion, but it won’t tell you who or what is moving around inside your home like the Nest Cam IQ will.
4.0
(Opens in a new window)
(Opens in a new window)
View More
The Nest Cam IQ is a 1080p home surveillance camera that offers facial recognition, automatic zoom tracking, motion- and sound-triggered alerts, and interoperability with many other smart devices.
[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/nest-cam-iq-indoor